Recent Fantagraphics Releases and Upcoming Arrivals as of September 2008.

RECENT FANTAGRAPHICS RELEASES

Love and Rockets: New Stories #1

By the Hernandez Brothers

100-page 6.625" x 9" black & white softcover • $14.99 USD

Love and Rockets: New Stories #1 reboots the beloved ongoing "Love and Rockets" comic into a fat, all-new annual graphic novel length package.

Jaime launches the new format with a story that's unusual even for him... A full-on, pulse-pounding super-hero yarn! Maggie's longtime friend Penny Century has finally realized her longtime dream of acquiring super-powers, but at a terrible personal cost. Now she rampages through the galaxy, half mad with grief, and a motley group of super-heroes assembles to try to stop her -- led by Maggie's girlfriend Angel and her mysterious neighbor Alarma, and involving a number of characters longtime Love and Rockets fans will delight in recognizing.

The epic-length 50-page story (only the first half of the saga!) combines Jaime's razor sharp characterization and superlative art with wildly inventive, Kirby-style slam-bang super-hero action.

Then Gilbert Hernandez explodes with a similarly generous helping of his fantastically creative one-shot short stories: "Papa" (a turn-of-the-century story involving a traveling businessman); "The New Adventures of Duke and Sammy" (super-powered Martin and Lewis impostors in outer space); "Victory Dance" (Into the Wild as re-imagined by Beto); "Chiro el Indio" (written by third brother Mario Hernandez); "Never Say Never" (a kangaroo gets lucky in Las Vegas; and the mysterious wordless mood piece simply titled "?".

One hundred pages of Jaime, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez at the peak of their powers: this is a major graphic-novel event!

The Portable Frank

By Jim Woodring

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200-page 6.25" x 8.75" black & white softcover • $16.99 USD

A Visionary work of comic art for all-ages! Readers who haven’t discovered Jim Woodring’s Frank stories have a colossal treat waiting for them in this all-ages gem collecting the character’s greatest adventures.

Frank is a unique, visionary comic, exquisitely drawn and so fully realized that adults and children alike find themselves drawn deeply into Woodring’s hallucinatory mindscape. The stories, almost entirely wordless, are told with brilliant, candy colors that people of all ages find alluring. The stories themselves unravel like a good puzzle, rewarding re-reading, providing an experience as immersive as that first love affair, that first samadhi, or that first breath. Simply put, the world of Frank must be experienced to be understood.

Frank is an 11-year-old generic anthropomorph who lives in a force-laden landscape called the Unifactor. He is curious but not smart, naïve but not noble, and his most outstanding character trait is his ineducability. Along with Pupshaw, Frank’s semi-subservient housedog-like godling, the two traipse across their surreal landscape, occasionally encountering Manhog, the bloated bladder of sin with a heart of radiance who exists to thwart their prosperity. And then there’s the platonic Jerry Chickens, and the lachrymose Lucky, as well as Frank’s Real Pa and Faux Pa, each a part of one of the great cartoon achievements of the 20th century.

For all its mystery, the world of Frank is a simple, delightful, mesmerizing example of world-building at its most fanciful, surely to delight parents and children alike.

Deitch's Pictorama

By Kim, Seth and Simon Deitch

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240-page 6" x 7.5" black & white softcover • $18.99 USD

Kim Deitch, creator of the acclaimed Fantagraphics collection Shadowland and the Pantheon graphic novels Alias the Cat and Boulevard of Broken Dreams, has recruited his siblings to produce a unique, all-new "picto-fiction" pocket book. Alternating between heavily illustrated near-comics stories and outright prose pieces, Deitch's Pictorama is a testament to the Deitch family's amazing yarn-spinning abilities!

The book leads off with Kim's lengthy picto-story "The Sunshine Girl," a typically Deitchean tall tale involving bottle cap collectors, drug dealers, family secrets, and the innocents who wind up in the middle of the hullaballoo. Then it's time for Seth's prose short story "Children of Aruf," about a man and his very unusual dog; "Unlikely Hours," a paranoid picto-story about a conspiracy of sentient rats written by Seth and illustrated by Kim; the prose novella "The Golem," once again written by Seth and decorated with a series of superb pencil illustrations by Simon; and finally Kim's autobiographical "The Cop on the Beat, the Man in the Moon and Me." This entire "Deitch treat" is wrapped up with an introduction by legendary Academy Award-winning animator, cartoonist and illustrator and proud papa Gene (Tom Terrific, Terr'ble Thompson, Tom and Jerry) Deitch.

The Comics Journal #292

Edited by Michael Dean and Kristy Valenti; Gary Groth, executive editor

200-page 7.5" x 9.25" b&w/color softcover • $11.99 USD

Gary Groth interviews father and son cartoonists Gene and Kim Deitch. Academy-award-winning Gene Deitch, whose wide-ranging career has spanned 60+ years, talks about doing illustrations for The Record Changer, directing cartoons such as Munro and Krazy Kat, and creating his comic strip Terr’ble Thompson. Underground comics pioneer Kim Deitch, touches on his father’s influence, reminisces about the New York-based scene and outlines the evolution of Waldo the Cat. Plus: Our comics gallery presents an historical essay and highlights from the turn-of-the-19th-century work of Puck cartoonist F. M. Howarth.

The Complete Crumb Comics Vol. 14 (New Softcover Printing)

By Robert Crumb

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128-page 8.5" x 11" b&w/color softcover • $19.99 USD

Finally back in print after a prolonged absence, The Complete Crumb Comics Vol. 14: The Early '80s and Weirdo Magazine continues the multi-volume series comprising the complete works of the legendary cartoonist R. Crumb, one of America's most original, trenchant, and uncompromising artists. This volume features the beginning of a seminal period of both Crumb's life and comics history with the first eight issues of Weirdo magazine, edited and anchored by Crumb, including the legendary strips, “Uncle Bob’s Mid-Life Crisis” and “I Remember the Sixties.” Also included are collaborations with Harvey Pekar from the pages of American Splendor, rare music-related art, Crumb's final contributions to Winds of Change magazine, and much more. Including the entirety of Crumb's published oeuvre, as well as unpublished comics and illustrations, The Complete Crumb Comics series (along with its companion series, The R. Crumb Sketchbooks) is an invaluable addition to any comics library.

Krazy and Ignatz 1943-1944: "He Nods in Quiescent Siesta"

By George Herriman

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120-page 9" x 12" full-color softcover • $19.99 USD

Krazy and Ignatz 1943-1944: "He Nods in Quiescent Siesta" covers the last two years of Herriman’s masterpiece. With this volume, Fantagraphics and its precursor Eclipse have reprinted the entire 29-year run of the Krazy Kat Sundays! Like Charles Schulz, George Herriman was a cartoonist to the very end. Aside from collecting the last masterful year and a half of Krazy Kat, this new volume offers a retrospective look at Herriman’s life at the drawing table, offering many never before seen samples of his original art (which the cartoonist often lovingly hand-colored for friends). Gathered from many scattered collections, these pages testify to Herriman’s invererate passion for drawing. Rounding out the volume are scores of Krazy Kat daily strips also from Herriman’s last years, further testament to the cartoonists vitality. Series editor and veteran comics historian, Bill Blackbeard, also provides a concluding, wide-ranging essay on the life and art of Herriman. More than a simple reprint collection, Krazy and Ignatz 1943-1944 portrays the full range of a cartoonist who remained an artist all his life.

Town of Mirrors: The Reassembled Imagery of Robert Pollard

By Robert Pollard

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144-page 10" x 10" full-color hardcover • $29.99 USD

Robert Pollard is the Dayton, Ohio singer-songwriter, who was the leader and creative force behind the legendary indie rock group Guided by Voices, one of the most influential bands of its generation (SPIN magazine recently named Pollard one of “The Top 50 Rock & Roll Front Men of All-Time”). After the dissolution of Guided by Voices in 2004, Robert Pollard launched his official solo career with the release of From a Compound Eye in 2006.

In addition to being a prolific songwriter/recording artist, Pollard is a gifted and prolific visual artist, working mostly in the medium of collage (not surprising, given his interest in sound collage as a recording artist). His work has been exhibited at Michael Imperioli’s Studio Dante in New York and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH. He has created the covers to almost every Guided By Voices record and countless other Pollard-related releases. Town of Mirrors collects the very best of Pollard’s visual art and lyrics/poetry.

Featuring over 175 of Pollard’s favorite collages, hand-picked by the artist, as well as over a dozen new collages produced exclusively for this collection, Town of Mirrors is the first comprehensive collection of Pollard’s visual art ever released. Pollard’s collages are the visual equivalent of his poetic and imagistic lyrics, surreal and reminiscent of the collages of artists ranging from Jack Kirby to Winston Smith.

Baobab #3

By Igort


Baobab #3

32-page 8.5" x 11" two-color saddle-stitched softcover with jacket • $7.95 USD

Baobab #3 returns to the structure of the first issue, split between two ongoing and (seemingly) unrelated stories set a century ago. In the first part of the book, young Hiroshi’s ailing grandmother tells him that she will die soon, and that his future will be in his nation’s capital: Tokyo. It’s the beginning of his new life for Hiroshi, and the end of his childhood. Then we return to the continuing story of two young, struggling South American cartoonists. Celestino is still living in his native Parador where, on the eve of World War I, a right-wing military dictatorship is growing in power and viciousness, even destroying the printing presses of the paper for whom he works. Even in this darkness, some light emerges: Celestino receives his first few fan letters from readers, and embarks on a romance with his publisher’s daughter. Meanwhile, his expatriate friend and colleague Pilade regales him with tales from the exciting world of American syndicated cartoonists, and together the two dream about this new artform whose birth they are witnessing, and may very well be contributing to...

Interiorae #3

By Gabriella Giandelli

32-page 8.5" x 11" two-color saddle-stitched softcover with jacket • $7.95 USD

Things are getting weirder in the apartment house in this, the third (of four) episode of Gabriella Giandelli's surreal tale. Two teens record a rock song, an ugly breakup takes place between a husband and a wife, the old lady resorts to increasingly desperate measures to find her inner peace, more and more people have begun to notice the white rabbit, much to his distress... and The Creature That Lives in the Basement and Feeds on Dreams is becoming frustrated because no one is dreaming.

Sammy the Mouse #2

By Zak Sally

32-page 8.5" x 11" two-color saddle-stitched softcover with jacket • $7.95 USD

In this issue, things ramp up, as Sammy still can't seem to find some peace and quiet in the comfort of his home (because a giant finger is poking him in the skull, among other things), and some new "friend" won't take "No" for an answer. An answer for what? Why, a PICNIC, of course. EVERYBODY loves a PICNIC, right? As if that weren't enough, Feekes keeps shooting off his drunk mouth (with dire consequences), there's more secret scary underwater business from Him, and where the hell is Puppy-boy, anyway? Also in this issue: a moustache.

UPCOMING ARRIVALS COMING SOON

Ghost World: Special Edition

By Daniel Clowes

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288-page duotone and full-color 7.5" x 10.75" hardcover • $39.99 USD

This deluxe new edition of our most popular book ever expands the original graphic novel — which tells the story of two best friends, Enid and Rebecca, facing the prospect of growing up and apart — from 80 pages into a 288 page, behind-the-scenes tour through the making of both the classic book and the subsequent hit film. Including a new introduction and several pages of new strips by Clowes, as well as over 200 pages of "extras": the Oscar-nominated screenplay by Clowes and Terry Zwigoff, dozens of pages of never-before-collected ephemera, including unused concept drawings, notes, movie posters, foreign edition covers, merchandise, and much more, all annotated by Clowes. Truly lavish, definitive and comprehensive.

Krazy and Ignatz: The Complete Sunday Strips 1935-1944

By George Herriman

600-page 9" x 12" full-color hardcover • $95.00 USD

Our second limited-edition deluxe Krazy hardcover (it's Volume 3, but the second to be published; Volume 1 is still forthcoming) collects the second batch of five Krazy & Ignatz softcover books we have published, comprehensively compiling the years 1935 through 1944, under hard covers. It's not a slipcase, it's a single hardcover book. The covers to the original five softcover books are NOT included, but literally everything else is. And yes, we are similarly collecting the years 1916-1924 as those softcover volumes are completed. (Since we get asked this once in a while — even though it's covered in the first one we did, at the end of the book, ahem — YES, we will go back and reprint the years prior to 1925.) Because of the limited nature of this item, we are not distributing this through traditional bookstores or Diamond distribution. A beautiful, must-have brick of a book for the Ignatz in you (though lobbing it at any unrequited love interests WILL cause serious physical harm — be warned).

Krazy and Ignatz: The Complete Sunday Strips 1925-1934 (2nd Edition)

By George Herriman

600-page 9" x 12" black & white hardcover • $75.00 USD

We said we would never reprint it... but popular demand overwhelmed our will! Our second limited-edition printing of this deluxe hardcover (limited to 600 copies this time) compiles the first five Krazy & Ignatz softcover books we published, comprehensively collecting the years 1925 through 1934, under hard covers. Because of the limited nature of this item, we are not distributing this through traditional bookstores or comic shops.

Sublife Vol. 1

By John Pham

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64-page 8.25" x 6.75" two-color softcover • $8.99 USD

Two white supremacist brothers live in the midst of an “ethnic” urban flood along with a dog they’ve trained as a weapon. A household made up of three renters, a landlord who never leaves her attic bedroom, and her son, who insists on wearing a sheet over his head all the time. A pack of ravenous stray dogs chase a cat down a desolate alleyway. The lonely, grimy silhouette of Los Angeles, ever-present. All these separate threads weave through the first part of "221 Sycamore St.", an ongoing story about the desperate need for family in two distinct households that share an indelible yet mysterious connection.

Sublife is the engaging new series from emerging talent John Pham (Epoxy, MOME). Similar in format to other great one-man anthology comics before it (Eightball, Acme Novelty Library, Jim), Sublife presents a variety of stories told in a range of styles and voices, all demonstrating a singular vision. Issue one features the first self-contained chapter of "221 Sycamore St." as well as "St. Ambrose," a fractured memoir of the author’s grade school alma mater.

John Pham won the Xeric Grant in 2000 and has been featured in publications such as Giant Robot, The Face, MOME and The Comics Journal.

Meat Cake #17

By Dame Darcy

32-page 6.75" x 10.25" black & white comic book • $3.95 USD

Just because Dame Darcy is busy with music, dollmaking, and being a reality TV star, that doesn't mean she's stopped baking her beloved Meat Cake, and here's a new issue to prove it! In Meat Cake #17, God is revealed to the Faeiry Sisters — so of course they get into a fight over it. Also, Trixxie Roxx stars in "The Horrors of Fame," what Darcy describes as "a punk-rock version of those cheesy 1940s romance novels where the girls are going through hyperdrama all the time" — plus more kee-razy neo-Goth fairy-tale madness from one of comics' true originals!